Sunday, October 27, 2013

27 October 2012 - In Retrospect, Thirteen Minutes Doesn't Seem So Long

On 27 October 2012, Manchester City beat Swansea 1-0 in what turned out to be the longest game in Premier League history.

The defending league champions, Manchester City entered the match sitting third in the table on the back of an undefeated record of five wins and three draws. Swansea, meanwhile, had just climbed into tenth after getting their only win in their last six, so few people expected them to put up much of a fight at the Etihad.

But the hosts were off their game for most of the day, suffering from an apparent hangover after losing to Ajax in the Champions League three days earlier. The only highlight for either team was Carlos Tevez's strike in the 30th minute that put City up 1-0.

The lowlights were more numerous, however, as both teams lost players to injury—defender Micah Richards for Manchester City (pictured) and keeper Michael Vorm for Swansea. Richards tore a meniscus in his knee and was sidelined for four months, while Vorm was out for eight weeks.

The injuries to Richards and Vorm delayed the game for lengthy spells, leading to a total of thirteen minutes of stoppage time, making the game the longest in the Premier League.